This invention relates in general to the connection of accessory devices to vehicles or structures, and more particularly, to an accessory mounting track that may be fixed to an environment, providing a secure attachment point for various accessories.
Devices, such as camera mounts, fishing rod holders, personal electronics cradles, marine depth finders, visibility beacons, and various other implements, frequently require quick and easy attachment and removal from structures and vehicles, such as personal watercraft, boats, all-terrain vehicles, airplanes, automobiles, military vehicles and other vehicles and structures utilizing such devices.
In addition to these devices, other items associated with various environments are commonly stored and organized. Many other environments contain a variety of items that need to be stored or organized. Within the scope herein, the term “device” shall refer to any item that may be stored or organized in a given environment, or a bracket designed to support such an item.
In some cases, it may be desirable to alter the deployment configuration of these devices, either by arrangement or position. It may also be desirable to interchangeably attach these devices to fixed mounts and track systems, with the fixed mount providing a rigid single point of attachment and the track system providing a range of deployment positions that may be altered during attachment or while being used in the field.
These devices have long been attached using a variety of methods, including direct and non-removable attachment to the environment, or removable attachment by means of a variety of mounting systems. While track systems have been utilized in some applications, they generally require tracks specifically designed for or fabricated into the vehicle or structure. The designs of these tracks make them unsuitable for surface mounting to environmental surfaces not designed to accept such a track and as a result are unstable and inadequate for such installations.
While there are existing methods of removable attachment for these devices, the scope of compatibility for those methods may be generally limited by the design of the attachment method, which may inhibit aforementioned versatility in deployment of the devices.
There remains a need for an accessory track that provides a secure means of removable attachment, utilizing a small profile designed for surface mounting.